And the verdict is in

Unfortunately, I didn't pass last week's glucose screening test. So, I've got to go back in later this week for another, longer, test. I wasn't really upset by the news - I was expecting it based on my pregnancy with Logan. Still, it's a bummer to have to deal with and it's going to knock out my entire morning to do. Oh well.

Logan, so far, seems much MUCH better today. His temp was down to 99 in the morning and back to normal (~98.2) this afternoon. I expect he'll go back to school again tomorrow. In the meantime, he's been getting into his fair share of trouble, now that he's got some of his energy back.

Earlier this afternoon he was stomping around playing with some of his toys and disappeared into the bathroom, closed the door and started playing in the tub. I could hear him talking and throwing the toys around (I was in the dining room, working on my laptop) - so after a few minutes of exchanges: "Whatcha doin' Logan?" "Logan's taking a bath!" I went in to see what exactly he was doing.

He had taken a shampoo bottle, opened and dumped it all over the place and was sliding around in it, in the tub. Amazingly, he didn't fall once.

Needless to say, we had to start a bath since he, and the bathtub, and the floor, and the walls, were covered in silky smooth Pantene slime. Luckily, it was pretty easy to clean up?

Oy.

Logan lined up his letters by color, all on his own. I did not tell him to do this - but clearly he's starting to take on some of his Mom's obsessive-compulsive qualities.

(This series is a bit blurry since I was rushing to capture the moment,
but you get the idea)

Sampras holds his serve

My Dad and I got tix to see the Sampras v. Verdasco exhibition match at the SAP Open tonight. We actually have really great seats (thanks to my bro Zane, an SAP'er), despite my crappy pic. You can tell Sampras is a bit slower on the courts than he used to be but MAN his serves are still on fire!! :)

An ear infection

Logan had another really rough night last night. He woke up about midnight and then every 10-15 minutes (I'm not even exaggerating, I was timing it!) thereafter. About 1am or so, Jon brought him into bed with us, hoping he'd finally just calm down and fall asleep. We didn't know what was wrong other than him being sick. We both tried sleeping while our toddler kicked and squirmed and whined and rolled and whimpered between us. He was like the dog circling 7 times for just the right spot to lie down in, only he never found that right spot. It was miserable.

About 2am or so, I can't really remember, I asked if he wanted to try sleeping in his own bed and he said yes (or more like HELL YEAH LADY that's what I've been WAITING for, what TOOK YOU SO LONG). So, I brought him back to his bed and rubbed his back until he fell asleep. Went back to bed and the vicious 10-15 minute wake up calls continued.

MOMMY!! Mommy, back please (he wanted me to rub his back).

So at about 3 or maybe 3:30am? Who knows, I certainly lost count, we brought him back to bed with us again, not knowing what else to do. LUCKILY, this time he fell asleep and slept (I had him sorta propped up in the crook of my arm wrapped around him, so maybe that helped) until morning.

Once morning hit, we could tell he still wasn't himself. His fever had come back (102) and he was coughing up a storm. He cried anytime I left his side and at one point, while Jon laid him down on the bed to change his diaper, he started SCREAMING at us. We couldn't figure out what he was saying at first, and suddenly it dawned on me, he was yelling "Logan's falling! Logan's falling!" (even though he wasn't at risk of falling off the bed). Jon and I wondered if it was possible he had vertigo, since he's normally really well balanced. It dawned on me that he had said that a few times over the weekend too, which I had thought was strange for him but hadn't thought much more about it until then.

Luckily, his doctor's office called (I had left a semi-desperate voice mail last night to CALL ME THE MINUTE YOU GUYS OPEN TOMORROW PLEASE PLEASE OH PRETTY PLEASE) and said they could see us at 9:15am and could we make it? It was 8:45am, Logan and I were still in our pj's and I was all oh hell yeah, we'll be there.

As it turns out, Logan was pretty bad off. His temp rose to 103.9 when we got to the dr's office, and he was so miserable that he clung to me, arms and legs wrapped around my body, not even looking up or blinking as Dr. Safir checked his eyes, ears, mouth, chest, etc. Other than obviously appearing super sick (Dr. Safir immediately said, clearly he's feeling shitty - this isn't the Logan I'm used to seeing) he had a horrible ear infection that made Dr. Safir jump back a couple feet with surprise. He wasn't sure how Logan wasn't complaining about the pain since it looked pretty bad. :( Logan's complained of an "owie" but when we ask him where, he can't point it out.... so I guess now we know where (it also explains the vertigo and eye infection symptoms).

Dr. Safir was actually really concerned. Of the 50-60 patients he sees in a day (I can't believe he really sees that many), he said 2-3 will actually be this sick. He wanted to make sure we treated the ear infection pronto, as well as got his fever down to a manageable level. He also wanted to make sure I was getting plenty of fluids into Logan since he could get dehydrated pretty quickly.

So, we gave him a shot of antibiotics to get it into his system right away, along with a prescription that we'll start tomorrow. We're on a rigid Tylenol/Motrin rotation every 4 hours (apparently rotating between the two is better than using just one type when you've got a fever this high) with lots of fluids.

Logan was clearly exhausted after the appointment, poor guy. We got home and I propped him up in our bed with a choice of several movies. He actually got into a better mood after a few hours, and ate some Cheerios along with the "just two sips" of apple juice or Gatorade that I insisted he take every 20 minutes. He also had some Jello that I made to help get some liquid into him (suggestion from the nurse) - and loved that. ;-)

Nap time was actually the roughest part of the day, since he woke up a few times crying in my arms non-stop for about 15-20 minutes. It's the first time I've seen him rub at his ear, so I can only guess the pain is really bothering him. I wanted so much to help him get over the pain and sleep some more (he'd keep his eyes closed, still clearly very tired and wanting to sleep) but had no idea what to do. I called the doctor again and they said other than the antibiotics and Motrin which we've already given him, there's not much else to do.

And then the nurse said, almost as an after thought, oh and try to keep him propped up, since lying down will hurt more.

AHA! I finally realized why poor Loganito's been having trouble sleeping!

We're supposed to keep a close eye on him throughout the day and night, and if he's the same or any worse tomorrow, Dr. Safir wants to see him again. I'm hoping it won't come to that but we'll just have to wait it out and see.

Giving Miss Manners a run for her money

Since we've been spending a lot of time in bed these last couple of days, I've been feeling more and more like a punching bag. Not just from the little one inside, but from the big kid outside as well. When Logan needs to let off some steam, he gets very rambunctious, and what better place to do so, than on Mommy and Daddy's bed? He tumbles and jumps and kicks and punches and plays - all on my legs, my shoulders, my arms, my back, my belly. I'm just another (padded) gymnasium to this kid, I suppose.

I can usually see enough ahead to ward off most blows - but a couple of good ones slipped past me this weekend - head butts whipping around the corner at lightening speed that I didn't have enough time to prepare for. When a couple of those smacks to the head landed harder than the laughs could distract, we'd both look at each other a bit dazed, until I'd come to and say "Ow Logan!" and rub my forehead.

Surprisingly, Logan's face quickly softened, he'd say "Sorry Mommy" and then pull my head, with both his hands, toward his face to kiss the "Owie" and make it feel much better. And it actually did feel better.

He'd then lean his head toward my lips, expecting the same in return.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the past week, I could have sworn I heard Logan say "Excuse me ..." and I thought naaaaah, I'm just HOPEFULLY dreaming my son is actually polite. But, we all know he's not. What toddler is, anyway?

But tonight, after dinner, he asked to get down from the table so he could finish watching his movie ("Logan's all done. Watch more TV please?"). We've been pretty lenient with him this weekend since he's been sick, and I think he knows it.

So, Jon washed his hands and he started his little trot down the hallway - only to run into Odin, the roadblock (who currently has a huge threatening cone on his head).

Normally, he yells at the dogs to "Go away dog!" or "Stay!" or something of that nature. But tonight was different. Tonight, he said "Excuse me, dog" as he slowly shuffled, back against the wall, behind and around Odin.

Jon turned to me and said, Did our son just say excuse me?

Yes, I think he did. Amazing, isn't it?

Where he picked it up from however, I've no clue.

Dexterity

Logan's doing much better but still a bit sickly. He had a really great morning today, we even got out and ran a couple errands which felt good to get out of the house, however after his nap this afternoon he was back to his clingy, fragile, upset self. :(

His fever is pretty much gone, although it did appear after his nap just a tiny bit (upper 99s), and the rash is also mostly gone (a few small spots also poked their ugly head out briefly after the nap), so we'll see. Unfortunately, he also has a weepy eye that's getting clogged up every time he cries (which feels like every 5 minutes), so I'll be calling the doc again tomorrow to see if we can get some drops for it since it's not clearing up on its own.

Because we've been cooped up in the house all weekend and Logan doesn't want to do anything but cuddle in bed and watch movies or sit on my lap, as close to me as humanly possible, I broke out some of the art supplies today so we could get a break from the TV.


I got about two 20 minute sessions out of him before he decided to quit and grab my hand to pull me back to cuddle in bed, but at least it was something. He absolutely fell in love with his new "froggy" scissors (I got the ladybug pair as well), learning how to cut paper on his own for the first time. Of course, he's not skilled enough to be left alone, but I was surprised at how quickly he picked up how to use them, one handed and all!

Nesting, Fasting and Mothering

Hooooooo boy, where to begin?

So I'll start by saying I've become obsessed - like Obsessed with a capital "O" - this week, lurking around Craigslist.

It suddenly dawned on me that there are a few baby items we actually might need when the baby arrives (like an infant car seat *cough* Jon! *cough*) and I got the wild and crazy idea of looking on Craiglist for a few of them. Lo and behold, I got SUCKED IN. And before you know it, I literally had appointments every.single.day this week, meeting with a different random person, to check out, and pay for, more stuff.

What did I end up buying?

- Tuesday was another booster chair
- Wednesday was another baby monitor (to use at my parent's house)
- Yesterday was a couple bags of toddler clothes (they'll be for Logan first before the baby)
- And today was the cutest little rainboots you ever did see (also for Logan first)

See?

Seeeee?? :)

I've only spent about $50 so far, for all the above, so not too shabby. I have a couple other small things I want to get for the baby but haven't been able to find the right size or color or deal yet. I'll keep searching. :)

I do wonder what this says about me as a parent the second time around. Since, for this guy, I'm all about buying on the cheap, cheap, cheap! ;-) I'm still pretty choosy about quality and brands, so I think it's more about saving where possible. We still need to buy an infant car seat (a job I've assigned to Jon), and though there are plenty to find on Craigslist, I'm going to guess we'll end up buying it in a store just because.

I guess nesting has finally begun?

Other than my maniac Craiglist shopping, I also had my glucose screening test this morning. Downing 50 g of syrup in 5 minutes is NOT my idea of a good time. And definitely makes you sick and queasy when taken on an empty stomach. :( But, at least I got that out of the way. We'll see what happens once we get the results next week.

After the test, I came back home to take care of Mr. Logan. Last night, at about 3am, Logan came stumbling into our room, up to my side of the bed, and then coughed a couple of times before starting to heave. I caught him before he got near the bed and sat with him trying to contain the vomit while Jon ran to get some towels, bowls and help clean up.

Poor Logan was pretty upset from throwing up - in the past he's always had just one quick and dirty projectile vomit - but this was more like what you'd see hovering over your dorm room toilet when your roommate had too much to drink after her sorority initiation and you thought you'd be nice and hold back her hair for the night. It was swell after swell of heaving, his body laboriously trying to get out whatever was bothering him. Luckily for us, the cleanup wasn't that bad, since he seemed to mostly be puking up water and clear liquid.

While Jon cleaned up the floor in our bedroom, I carried him into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. I figured not only was he not liking the heaving his stomach was doing, but he couldn't possibly like the taste in his mouth either. That seemed to make him feel better as he perked right up after that. We gave him a bit of cough medicine (he seemed to be running a bit of a fever in addition to the cough) and put him back to bed.

When he woke up in the morning, he was still a bit off. He was pretty hot - his temp was a bit over a 100, but he felt much warmer to me. Jon watched him while I did my blood test and then took off for work when I got back to take care of him.

My dad came over for a few hours to also help watch him since I had a client call I couldn't reschedule (and, since he was over at about the same time, I snuck off to snag the rainboots afterward!). Though continuing to run a fever, Logan was actually in pretty good spirits all morning. He even took another bike ride out with my dad around the block.

However, when I got back from my errand (and to grab lunch), I noticed a rash developing on his face, arms and belly. My dad mentioned he had just started scratching and itching pretty regularly. He was also steaming up. :( And, unfortunately, started going downhill from there.

I monitored him pretty closely the rest of the afternoon and talked to his doctor. They weren't too concerned about the rash - due to the other symptoms (mainly fever) just before it - they said it was likely a "viral rash". Essentially, whatever bug he caught, was deciding to make itself known to the outside world as well. They gave me instructions for Tylenol and Benedryl - neither of which I had in the house at the time (we ran out of Children's Tylenol earlier in the day). And unfortunately, once Logan woke up from his nap, he was NOT in a state to be taken out (very sensitive, delicate and extremely clingy - crying for me incessantly all afternoon long).

I normally don't mind his sicky-clingy behavior when he's sick, but all he wanted today was to sit and/or lay in my lap - of which I no longer really have! So it got to be really uncomfortable and frustrating as he would literally try to PUSH my belly to one side and move it out of the way for a better spot to lie.

*sigh*

Luckily, by the time Jon got home, his rash was already improving significantly. He was itching much less and the little hot spots were disappearing to the point that Jon really didn't see much of it at all. He was still running a decent fever (it had crept up to 102) but seemed to be in better spirits at least. We got some more Tylenol and Benedryl in him and relaxed on the couches with him until it was time for bed.

I'm really hoping whatever bug he caught has run its course and he'll be on the mend tomorrow. Otherwise, we have a long night, and weekend, ahead of us! :(

Butterflies and all things verklempt

Logan is obsessed with butterflies. Here he is helping his teacher make some butterfly art for the classroom. He especially enjoyed pushing down on the stapler (what he's doing here).

I had one of those major verklempt moments yesterday morning when I dropped him off at school. We arrived just in time for "Circle Time", so all of the kids were sitting on the floor, watching the teacher in front of them, learning their ABCs. Logan immediately ran and sat down in the back, tumbling and rough housing with some of his buddies (it gave me flash-forwards of what he's going to be like in his HS auditorium down the road).

But he was also VERY into the ABC flashcards the teacher was holding out - practically shouting at each one (he got about a quarter right but that didn't stop him). And, because he was SO DAMN THRILLED, he was literally bouncing (on his knees) with excitement and happiness. I walked past him to put his lunch away and he briefly turned and looked up at me, saying "Bye Bye Mommy!" with the biggest smile on his face.

As I left, I stood at the door and watched for awhile before leaving. I was kicking myself for not bringing my phone and taking a video but oh well. The image is still burned into my memory and locked away forever.